China's artificial forest preservation area has reached 700
million mu (46.69 million hectares), accounting for 26
percent of the world's total artificial forest area, and thus
ranking first in the world. The figure was released by an
international seminar on China's forest and timber industries
sustainable development held on October 26 in Beijing.
Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Forest Administration,
said the country's forest area had increased to 2.38 billion
mu (160 million hectares), with timber storage up to 12.5
billion cubic meters and the percentage of forest cover reaching
16.55 percent, compared to 8.6 percent in the 1950s. Thus, the
nation's forestry resources had been effectively protected and
developed. The accumulated total of timber and bamboo provided by
the forestry industry to society currently stands at more than 5
billion cubic meters and more than 8 billion cubic meters
respectively; tree-planting by volunteers totals 8.2 billion
person-times.
Zhou said China would further enlarge the opening of the
forestry industry to the outside world. It welcomes domestic and
overseas businesses to participate in the country's forestation
efforts, the forestry industry in general, forestry by-product
processing and forestry product trades in various forms, including
establishing solely-foreign funded enterprises and joint ventures,
shareholding, contracting and leasing. The related government
forestry departments would create a more relaxed environment and
convenient conditions for cooperation.
The seminar was co-sponsored by the Economic Development
Research Center of the State Forest Administration and the Hong
Kong Global Timer Development Co. Ltd. During the meeting, Chen
Yanhua, chairwoman of the Hong Kong company's board of directors
delivered a report in which she put forward the company's plan to
support the mainland's forestry and timber industries
development.
Actively promoted by Ms Chen, the establishment of the world's
largest international timber comprehensive trading market sponsored
and funded by individual businesspeople and consortiums from China,
the United States, Malaysia, Australia, Britain, France, Italy and
News Zealand would start soon, it was revealed.
(China.org.cn translated by Li Jingrong October 28, 2003)